13.2: Globalization and Transnational Crime

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Transnational crimes may be committed by individuals working alone but more often they involve organised groups or networks of individuals working in more than one country. Disparate crime groups seem to be communicating, sharing information and coordinating their operations to a greater extent than in the past. In part, these organizations have been helped by corrupt or weak governments and by the resurgence of ethnic and regional conflicts across the former Soviet Union that followed the end of the Cold War in the 1990s. (For the significance of failed states see Chapter 14.)

As well, criminal organisations are taking advantage of the opportunities created by globalization – easier, faster and cheaper communication technologies, deregulated financial markets, and more open borders that allow increased flows of people and money (UNODC, 2002).

For example, the development of digital communications, encrypted digital streaming, and high-quality video conferencing have made it easier for transnational criminal groups to diversify and expand their activities by communicating, sharing information, and transferring money around the world.

Globalisation is also implicated in a particular form of transnational crime–human trafficking. Although globalisation has made it easier to transport goods and capital across international borders, labour markets and human migration have remained highly regulated. Restrictions on immigration such as visa requirements have become more stringent, making it more difficult for migrants or so called ‘economic refugees’ to escape impoverished or oppressive countries, or those involved in conflict. This has increased the demand for illegal immigration which means that human trafficking has become more profitable. According to Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), globalization has turned out to be a double-edged sword, allowing loose networks of terrorists and organised criminal groups to easily link with each other, to pool their resources and expertise and to significantly increase their capacity to do harm (UN, 2011).